Most impressive first victory by a driver

Mark Webber's first victory in Nürburgring was impressive to me. Even with a drive-through penalty, he was on fire that day, just pure dominance, and the emotions of finally having a victory after so long makes it very sweet as well.

I don't know about Kubica's first victory since Lewis and Kimi were both taken out in that infamous pit lane incident and Nick Heidfeld moved over due to a different strategy although to be fair, Kubica made his strategy work to give BMW's first F1 win and was pretty dominant after Lewis and Kimi were out of the race.

Sebastian Vettel's at Monza was pretty amazing. Unexpected, in the conditions and the STRF which got the crowd pretty juked. Plus they played the Italian Anthem, which was hilariously wrong, but perfect as it drew on Schumy/Ferrari days to hear those songs back to back. I was home that weekend - I remember Seb was all curbs in that race, but he kept his head and when he won, our house woke up the neighborhood.

Kimi in 2003 coming through for the win was also impressive - being a huge fan and young, I was impatient for that one. The interview is still one of my favs. It is funny because I don't really dig that track as it can give insane races, but also no race at all - i.e., greatly curtailed. But that memory highlights it as a special track for me.

Another impressive win was Hamilton in Canada. He came storming in F1 and just amazed - so I was looking for a win and he produced it. That was awesome. And he kept on producing too, which was friggen insane. I was rooting for Kimi of course, but how could you not admire Hamilton conquering F1 as he did.

Most impressive in recent years IMO is Vettel's at Monza. If we're talking all time though, it'd be more difficult - perhaps Senna's at Estoril? I think I'd have to go for JP Beltoise's first (and only, as it turned out) victory, at Monaco in the rain; he beat Ickx by nearly 40 seconds, with nobody else even on the same lap!

Mark Webber's first victory in Nürburgring was impressive to me. Even with a drive-through penalty, he was on fire that day, just pure dominance, and the emotions of finally having a victory after so long makes it very sweet as well.

What's the most impressive first victory by a driver in your opinion?

Actually Mark was extremely lucky that day.

At the start of the race, he punctured Lewis' tyre without damaging his own wing.

All other serious runners were stuck behind Kovalainen in the first stint. Kovy made a very good start with the aid of KERS, got into 3rd place and drove very slowly and defensively (again using KERS) to hold up Jenson, Massa and Vettel, among others. That more than accounted for the drive-through.

The only driver who could and should have challenged Mark was Rubens, who seems to have had a really bad day. That was partly due to the Brawn tyre-warming issues, but mainly because he failed to grasp the opportunity which had dropped in his lap. Famously Rubens went on a rant against the team, which was made into a video, but really he only had himself to blame, he was very slow.

The only driver who could and should have challenged Mark was Rubens, who seems to have had a really bad day. That was partly due to the Brawn tyre-warming issues, but mainly because he failed to grasp the opportunity which had dropped in his lap. Famously Rubens went on a rant against the team, which was made into a video, but really he only had himself to blame, he was very slow.

You've blatantly made all that up other than the rant. He had the same problem as the rest as his two-stop meant he got held up by Massa for half the race on a one-stop which allowed Webber his free drive-thru. That is why he was (rightfully) pissed at his team, but for unfortunate wording.

Not a fan of Barrichello, but supporting Ferrari in those days as a die hard fan, I remember that win well, even though I was only a little kid.

With Schumacher out of the race, all the focus was on Barrichello from everyone, and I think he started from 18th, somewhere near the back of the field, and started hounding both McLaren's, and who could forget Murray Walker going crazy, "The Flying Ferrari!".

From my time of watching F1 anyway, this one springs to my mind. Had that little extra compared to the rest.

Most impressive in recent years IMO is Vettel's at Monza. If we're talking all time though, it'd be more difficult - perhaps Senna's at Estoril? I think I'd have to go for JP Beltoise's first (and only, as it turned out) victory, at Monaco in the rain; he beat Ickx by nearly 40 seconds, with nobody else even on the same lap!

Excellent choices!

Plus of course Hunt's win at Zandvoort - and Jim Clark's win at Spa in 1962 from the middle of the grid.

In recent years I'd say Vettel's. His pole and win was totally out of the blue, was with a team who you would least expect to win and was one of the only times I can recall nearly everyone rooting for the underdog (Hard to imagine he was called that at the time!).

I would have to go with Barrichello though. Winning your first race from the back. How often does that happen?

You've blatantly made all that up other than the rant. He had the same problem as the rest as his two-stop meant he got held up by Massa for half the race on a one-stop which allowed Webber his free drive-thru. That is why he was (rightfully) pissed at his team, but for unfortunate wording.

OK, I'd forgotten that he was held up by Massa, but ISTR that was because he hadn't gone fast enough (on low fuel and without a slow McLaren in front of him) to be ahead of Massa after his first pitstop. The reason why he was annoyed at the team was because he had a slow 2nd pitstop and they didn't fuel him to the end as he'd suggested, but since the tyres were graining on the Brawn that was not really an option. Edit: actually maybe Brawn should have tried it, but the main problem was Rubens' pace, and a full tank of fuel wouldn't have helped much.

I think both Brawns 3-stopped in that race, but I'm going purely by memory so I could be wrong.

The most impressive thing about Keke is how he managed to become WDC having only 1 win in his career at that point.

I have a hard time choosing between Senna's and Barrichello's. Having your first victory showing total dominance being more than a minute ahead of everyone else or winning starting from 18th position are impressive achievements.

The most impressive thing about Keke is how he managed to become WDC having only 1 win in his career at that point.

I have a hard time choosing between Senna's and Barrichello's. Having your first victory showing total dominance being more than a minute ahead of everyone else or winning starting from 18th position are impressive achievements.

Very true.

Maybe James Hunt deserves a mention for giving Hesketh their first and only win.

I think both Brawns 3-stopped in that race, but I'm going purely by memory so I could be wrong.

Nope, Button was originally on a 3 stop strategy too, but got switched to a 2 stopper, Button went on to finish ahead of him. Think that was the main reason due to his outburst as he thought the team was favouring Button.

Nope, Button was originally on a 3 stop strategy too, but got switched to a 2 stopper, Button went on to finish ahead of him. Think that was the main reason due to his outburst as he thought the team was favouring Button.

You are confusing Germany with Barcelona, where Rubens had another outburst.

I was initally thinking about Panis in 96, just because that he was very fast, and kept in on the track. However, after reading about Beltoise here. I'm going to go for that win!

The Vettel-win wasn't that impressive for me. Bourdais was fast enough for a podium that day, and that tells me that STR had a somewhat perfect setup compared to the others. I remember some talk about many others not thinking it would be that much rain, and not having a full wet setup or something.A very solid effort to bring it home at top. But, Toro Rosso was a fast car at the end of that season, and with a very good setup compared to others, it wasn't that impressive!